It has been over a fortnight since floods devastated much of the communities in Gaborone and surrounding areas.
Rains that hit Botswana in recent months, including the cyclone Dineo, left a trail of destruction in Gaborone and surrounding areas. The incessant rains damaged schools, bridges, and several roads and bridges were washed away. Botswana can no longer treat disasters as events that just happen, but as events that should be well planned for due to their financial cost.
Due to the increasing impulsiveness to hazards such as floods, and more recently, the unprecedented Cyclone Dineo in Southern Africa, Botswana’s struggle is not only how she can cope but how to both overcome and mitigate these unexpected hazards. This ensures that the economy and the daily lives are not crippled in the process.
An expert who specialises in floods, Thuso Modimoeng, stated that “there is need for a flood plain management framework, which will guide prevention and mitigation, preparedness, response and early recovery with regards to the flood hazards.”
Already the current incessant rains and floods are likely to trigger another shock-year of hunger and hardship for poor and vulnerable people, with serious consequences that will persist until at least to the next harvest in 2018.
If Botswana wants to successfully mitigate such calamities, now and in the future, then there is need for financial prudence. And this has to begin with the current political lords.
The number of disasters reported in Sub Saharan Africa has surpassed one thousand in the last decade. This puts Botswana in great need of a well defined financial disaster planning because of the ever increasing impulsiveness to due to climate change. The current floods should be a red flag for proactive financial and administrative policies to be implemented.
Lack of funding for implementation and the high susceptibility to disasters are just two amongst many other factors that Botswana must pay attention to in order to prevent disasters from affecting our emergency preparedness.
The issue is compounded by recent revelations that the Office of President (OP) cannot account for missing millions of disaster funds. In 2008, startling revelations are made of how the hasty inception of that country’s secret service, on the eve of Khama’s ascension to the highest office, led to the diversion of close to P12.4 million in the accounts of the National Disaster Relief Fund (NDRF) from its intended use to the formation of the Directorate of Intelligence and Security Services (DISS). This is because there was no accounting code for an otherwise nonexistent department.
The most probable reason for this disparity is that the current leaders underestimate hazards posed by disasters, hence finds no need to commit and set aside funds towards disaster management. It is, therefore, important for Botswana to seriously take disaster management into account when planning their budgets as disasters have the capacity to cripple economies and the recovery from such experiences costs much more both in monetary terms and loss of human life.
There is no excuse why Botswana cannot be disciplined enough to leave that money for emergencies alone, unlike what Botswana did a few years ago when the government allegedly used disaster funds to establish DISS.
The current floods has proved that Botswana is at an increased risk as she is faced with a growing assortment of natural and man-made hazards which are likely to increase in frequency due to climate change. Therefore, preparedness is the answer as this reduces impact.
There is need for the government to establish platforms and forums that will allow public engagement in the management of country affairs. The public should be involved and allowed to participate right from the budget formulation.
So far, government through the Ministry of Presidential Affairs used over P40mln of tax payers’ money for purposes of replenishing the National Disaster Relief Fund that was dented by the establishment of DIS in 2008. Not only is this reckless, but very unacceptable.
Nothing beats preparedness and Botswana better understand this.
